Memories of Hope
by Festus Flare
Summary: Not long after rescuing the survivors of the Mutual Killing Game, the Future Foundation was able to capture one of the members of Ultimate Despair; the nurse Tsumiki Mikan. But just as they announced her execution, Naegi notices something was wrong and stops the execution. "Who… Wh-Who is Tsumiki?"


"Tsumiki Mikan!"

"Giih!"

The lights in the room flashed brightly, blinding the terrified woman as she tries to cover her eyes. After finally allowing her eyes to adjust to the light, she slowly peels her eyes open. The pure white walls surrounding her were tall and far apart. From top to bottom, side to side, there was far too much space between her and the walls. A screening glass could be seen on the wall across from her, though several metres higher from eye level.

Whoever put her here really didn't want to be anywhere near her, it seems.

She tried to push herself off the chair she was sitting on, wooden and hard, but quickly realised that she was tied to it by her wrists. Panic was starting to engulf her as she struggled to pull herself free. The sound of her own panicking voice echoing back to her only served to scare her even more.

"You are hereby sentenced to execution for all your crimes as a member of Ultimate Despair" the voice spoke coldly through the intercom once more

"Wh-Wh-What?!" the woman stuttered, her face turning several shades of white "Wh-Why?!"

"Why?" the voice seemed to grow even colder, even more menacing "Hundreds upon thousands of murder cases, replacing medicine with concentrated poison, experimenting on the bodies of living humans, spreading diseases to entire nations! How is that not enough justification for an execution, Tsumiki Mikan?!"

"I-I don't know…!" the girl bawled, her eyes brimming with tears as she finally gave up trying to free herself "W-What's going on? Where am I? Wh-Wh-Who are you?! I w-wanna go hoooome!"

"Do you really think your petty crocodile tears will fool us?" the voice shot through her ears once more "You are a plague upon this society, and have caused enough despair! We shall begin the execution-"

"Please wait!"

The sound of a door sliding open and footsteps running behind her caught the woman by surprise. She tried to turn her head around, but it was sadly still strapped to the chair. The footsteps grew louder and louder until the owner of said footsteps finally appeared in front of her.

He was a rather short man, with a head of spiky brown hair and a smart suit covering his body. His deep olive eyes looked into her own pale purple ones. The most striking thing about him is the ahoge sitting atop his head, sharp and long like it was trying to poke someone's eye out.

"Are you okay, Tsumiki?"

"Wh-Who…?"

"I'm Makoto Naegi, your underclassman," the short man continued to say as a warm smile appeared on his face "I tried to get here sooner, but they wouldn't let me. Sorry for taking too long,"

"N-N-No…" the woman softly shook her head, tears still streaming down her cheeks "Who… Wh-Who is Tsumiki?"

* * *

"Gekkogahara has confirmed it," a woman with long, bright violet hair said, placing a few pieces of paper on the table in front of Naegi "It's amnesia,"

"Amnesia?!" Naegi shouted, hurriedly taking the paper and scanning through them "A-Are you sure, Kirigiri?!"

"She's the former Ultimate Therapist, after all" Kirigiri replied sternly "I doubt her assessment would be wrong,"

The amnesiac woman, Tsumiki Mikan according to what they kept calling her, blinked her eyes in confusion. She rubbed her wrists and neck, still feeling the soreness of the straps that had bound her just an hour or so ago. Now that she was finally free, she was finally able to take a good look at herself in front of a mirror. And what she saw scared her.

Long, snake-like hair reached all the way to her thighs. Unkempt and messy, like she hasn't showered for days. Bandages wrapped her right arm and left leg, while her body was covered by a rather tight nurse uniform that did not leave much to the imagination. Was she always this… provocative before her amnesia? And those things the cold person on the intercom, Munakata she heard his name was, said… were they real?

She shuddered to find out the truth.

"It's going to be okay, Tsumiki!" Naegi comforted her, placing a hand on her shoulder even if it meant getting on his toes "They can't execute you if you have amnesia! It's not you who did all those bad things!"

"I… S-Sorry…" Tsumiki didn't know what to say, so she defaulted back to apologising "F-For getting you caught up in this…"

"It's fine, really!" Naegi grinned "I know you mean well, and that you didn't have a choice when it came to what your despair self did. I'll help you get through this, I promise!"

"A-Are you sure?" Tsumiki asked, a small ray of hope shining in her eyes as she heard Naegi say that.

"Naegi is the Ultimate Hope, after all," Kirigiri said quietly to the side, just loud enough for the other two to hear "If you can trust anyone here, then trust him."

"Oh, please. You're selling me too much!" Naegi blushed as he scratched the back of his head "I'm just a normal kid, after all. Anyone would want to help her if they knew her situation, right?"

"Actually, I doubt most people would even want to find out about her situation at all," Kirigiri said matter-of-factly

Kirigiri could only sigh as she watched her friend, and a glimmer of a smile made its way to her face. Classic Naegi.

* * *

"What do you mean, they're still going through with the execution?!" Naegi was slack jawed, his eyes opened in wide-eyed horror as he heard the news

"Do you really think that fool Munakata would change his mind?" a haughty man in glasses scoffed "The fact that he even allowed Tsumiki to have a psyche evaluation in a miracle enough on its own."

"But it's wrong, Togami!" Naegi started scratching his hair "Tsumiki's innocent right now! In fact, she's the former Ultimate Nurse! We could use her skills for hope! In fact, she could be really useful in Kimura's division!"

"Hmph. Tell that to the other Division heads," Togami cocked his head sideways "Frankly, I don't care what happens to that woman."

"But she's innocent!" Naegi tried to reason with his friend "She didn't mean to do all that stuff!"

"Oh?" Togami glared at Naegi, making the shorter man take a step back "So you're saying that the families of all the people she killed would just accept that explanation? What would happen if word got out that a former member of Ultimate Despair is working in the Future Foundation? People would riot. They won't trust us anymore. And what if she suddenly regains her memories and becomes Despair again? Would you take responsibility then?"

"I…" Naegi was speechless, unsure of how to respond to Togami's rapid-fire accusations

Just around the corner, Tsumiki clutched the hem of her nurse uniform. Her eyes were downcast, staring at the floor with listless eyes. The two men didn't notice she was there at all, and that was fine. She would have just been a bother anyways.

Trying her best to hold back her sobs, Tsumiki ran down the hall away from the two of them.

Togami was right. Even if she didn't remember it, she was still a monster. A monster that has killed thousands of people, maybe even millions. A monster that helped kickstart the Tragedy that everyone has to suffer through. Why would she ever have a second chance at life? Why should she ever have the trust of anyone after all that?

Rushing past a dark skinned woman, Tsumiki entered a room and locked herself inside it, finally allowing herself to cry to her heart's content. She was just so confused right now. Why would her past self do all that? What did she think as she did all those horrible things? How could she ever make up for it? Nothing could come to mind. Her memory still failed her as she continued to scream and berate herself, blaming no one but herself for everything that has happened.

"Tsumiki!" the sound of loud bashing could be heard from the other end of the door "Oooi! Open up, Tsumiki! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

It wasn't Naegi. Even with his rather soft voice, Tsumiki knew that this voice belonged to a female. It wasn't Kirigiri, either. Just who could it belong to…?

Slowly raising her head, Tsumiki only then noticed the smell. It was very… distinct, though it wasn't nasty at all. In fact, it has a rather… comforting smell to it. The smell of curing and kindness, and of smiles on once crying faces. There was only one thing that this could actually be.

Medicine.

"Open uuuuuup!" the woman outside continued to bang on the door "Sheesh, and here I thought I was going to help cheer you up with a doughnut party…"

Feeling sorry for the person outside, Tsumiki unlocked the door and opened it. She didn't expect the woman to be leaning on the door, though, and the two of them fell into a crumpled heap.

* * *

"Tsumiki? Where are you, Tsumiki?"

"Ah! We're over here, Naegi!"

"Asahina?" Naegi peeked inside the room he heard Asahina's voice in "What are you doing with-"

The former Ultimate Swimmer quickly covered Naegi's mouth with her own hand as soon as he came in to the room, shushing him. Confused and honestly a bit scared, Naegi started looking around the room. He quickly noticed Tsumiki hanging out by the shelves, all of which are stocked to the brim with medicine. She had a clipboard in her hand and was quickly jotting down notes.

"Tsumiki?" Naegi finally managed to say as soon as he got Asahina's hand out of his mouth

"Kyaah!"

This instantly surprised Tsumiki, who dropped her clipboard and jumped from her spot. The bottle of unknown chemicals she was holding quickly fell to the floor, prompting Asahina to dash to the rescue and save it just millimetres before it smashed onto the floor.

"That was close…!" Asahina groaned, head plopped on the ground in panic

"A-Ah! I-I'm sorry for being so c-c-c-clumsy!" Tsumiki apologised, bowing deeply "I-If you want, you could p-pour the contents onto m-m-my head! It's supposed to be a-a-a rash medicine that makes you v-very itchy…!"

"It is?" Naegi asked, taking the bottle from Asahina "Wow, how'd you know? The bottle just says 'scratching' on it!"

"E-Eh?" Tsumiki asked, getting up from her bowing position "O-Oh… We-Well, I read the ingredients…"

"All these weird names?!" Asahina popped up from behind Naegi, surprising him "I barely understood what any of them means!"

Tsumiki nodded her head as she passed the clipboard to her two supposed juniors. She watched in anticipation as the two of them scanned through her notes, a sound of wonder and amazement coming out of their mouths every time they flipped the page. She had taken notes on all the bottles here, and even added some tips on how to make them even more potent than they already were. There were even some extra notes on how they could combine some of the medicine to make even more powerful combinations.

"Kimura's going to love all this!" Naegi finally looked up at Tsumiki, making her take a step back in shock and embarrassment "She's been looking for an assistant for quite a while, you know? To help her with her medicine. If you can do all this, then-"

"Then Munakata won't have a reason to execute you!" Asahina finished Naegi's sentence, grabbing Tsumiki's hands and jumping for joy "You can help us here, in the Future Foundation!"

"I… I c-can?" Tsumiki squeaked, not even believing it herself

"Of course!" Naegi chuckled "Tengan has been looking for people like you to help out with the foundation!"

* * *

"Sorry, Naegicchi! I tried!" a man in long dreadlocks clapped his hands together and bowed in apology

"That b-b-bastard just won't listen…!" a woman in long stringy hair bit her thumb, her eyes filled with a murderous glare

"I-It's fine, Hagakure, Touko…" Naegi tried to calm his two friends down

Touko was quick to accept Naegi's apology, though she whispered under her breath that she only did it for her beloved Togami. Hagakure, on the other hand, continued to apologise like mad. This made the situation more awkward than it already is. Turning around to look at Tsumiki, Naegi gave her a weak smile.

"I-It's fine…" Tsumiki whispered

It wasn't.

Naegi and Asahina had left soon after with the clipboard, looking for their other friends to see if they could help her convince the other Division Heads to cancel Tsumiki's execution. As Tsumiki watched her juniors rush out with hope in their eyes, she couldn't help but feel happy for once. So what if she doesn't know about her past? She was still useful after all.

In fact, she didn't even know if what she's writing down is even real. It all came like instinct to her; like she's been using these medicine bottles for her whole life.

Well, Naegi did say she used to be the Ultimate Nurse. Maybe some of those old skills actually stuck with her?

She had stayed behind to continue cataloguing the items, writing down whatever she could into a notebook Naegi had gotten from Kirigiri. Slowly, the pages filled up with more and more notes on medicine and even first aid as Tsumiki seemed to honestly enjoy herself. A warm smile slowly etched itself onto her face as she writes down an easier way to wrap your arm in a sling so even beginners could do it.

But then came the news, and her smile disappeared in an instance.

"Y-You guys tried your best…" Tsumiki whispered quietly, her eyes dry from tears. She had already cried so much today that she doesn't know if she could anymore "Th-Thank you… for f-forgiving me…"

"Ugh, d-do you have to look so p-p-pathetic?" Touko muttered, tapping her fingers together as she tries to avert her gaze "No need to g-g-guilt trip us!"

"Touko!"

"C'mon, Naegicchi, you know her!" Hagakure laughed, slapping Naegi on his back and making him jump forward "She doesn't mean that at all, right? Right? I'm right, right?"

"Sh-Shut up…!" Touko muttered before exiting the room, knuckles white as she clutched them tightly

Naegi watched as his friend exited the room, grumbling about going to help Togami with his paperwork. He clenched his teeth, wondering if there's anything he could do to help Tsumiki. He was able to talk down Junko, after all. How was this any different? In fact, why would talking to the leader of Ultimate Despair, the one who started the whole tragedy, be easier than talking to someone on the side of hope?

"I-I'm gonna go find Kirigiri and Asahina," Naegi said, remembering that the two of them went to the toilet after their attempts at negotiating fell through "Wait here! We'll make sure to save you!"

He then ran out the door, leaving Tsumiki alone with Hagakure.

"So…" Hagakure muttered, turning to look at the depressed woman "You know what'll cheer you up? Divination! I'll show you a future where we're all happy and laughing! Trust me, I'm right 30% of the time, 100% of the time!"

* * *

"Naegi, p-p-please…"

"But they have to stop the execution!" Naegi said, barely able to hold back his emotions "We'll be no different than Monokuma if we just let an innocent person go to their deaths!"

"But I… I-I'm n-not innocent…"

"You've got that wrong!"

"Calm down, Naegi" Kirigiri reminded him, bringing Naegi back to reality

Tsumiki sat in a small jail cell, which was surrounded by thick glass. She still had her pen and book with her, something Naegi and Kirigiri had managed to convince the guards to allow her to keep. They had promised to take full responsibility in case Tsumiki even showed any signs of trying to break out.

Well, Naegi did, anyways.

"They… They let me live… f-for so long," Tsumiki smiled, clutching the book to her chest "I should be… I-I'm grateful that they even gave me this ch-chance at all,"

"But you deserve to live…" Naegi placed his hand on the glass wall that separated them "Nobody deserves to die for something they didn't willingly do…"

"Willingly or not… I-I still did it," Tsumiki reminded him "I d-don't even remember… how I… f-f-fell to despair… Maybe… Maybe I did do it i-intentionally…"

Tsumiki opened up her book once more. It was filled with even more notes now, and was quickly filling up. Hagakure and Asahina had gone to look for some more pens and books that she could use in case it gets filled up.

Munakata had allowed Tsumiki to live only until she had finished her book. The survivors of the 78th Class were all shocked by his final choice. He was just going to use her talent and dispose of her as soon as she's outlived her usefulness! Even some of the other Division Heads were shocked by the outcome.

"It's the majority vote, after all" Munakata had said after the meeting, not giving Naegi another glance as he turns away "I apologise, but this is the best compromise we could give right now. We have no way of knowing whether or not she will return to being an Ultimate Despair if she ever regains her memories. But you have convinced us that she could be of use to us with her medical knowledge. As long as she could help us, then she will be allowed to live."

Naegi rests his head on the glass wall at that memory.

"But you didn't have to treat her like some sort of criminal…"

"Naegi," Kirigiri held his hand, making the former luckster loosen his shoulders "I have some connections I could try contacting. One of them was the former Ultimate Defence Attorney. I'll try and contact him to see if he could lend us a hand."

"Thank you…" Naegi smiled, turning to face Kirigiri "Thank you so much, Kirigiri."

"That's what friends do, right?" she reminded him as she took out her cellphone and started dialling a number.

She soon walked away, leaving Naegi alone with Tsumiki once more. She was talking to someone called Wright. Must be the Ultimate Defence Attorney.

"We'll get you out of there, okay?" Naegi said, expression determined and hopeful "I'll make sure of it!"

Tsumiki nodded her head quietly, getting her pen out to start writing the next chapter of her book.

* * *

Naegi failed. The Ultimate Defence Attorney couldn't do anything to cancel out Tsumiki's execution, and she had finished about three volumes worth of material just hours ago. Sakakura had come to pick her up for her execution, and now he was sitting in a small room with her.

"I'm sorry," Naegi apologised, head in his palms as he started trying to think up some alternatives "I couldn't stop the execution…"

"I-It's fine…" Tsumiki reminded him.

She really wanted to try and comfort him, but her hands were literally tied up right now. All she could do was smile at him kindly. It has been months since the original trial, and the 78th Class had made sure to keep her company for all that time. Even if Togami and Touko often tried to shirk their visits whenever they could.

"You… Y-You helped me stay alive for so long…" Tsumiki reminisced, looking at the handcuffs that bound her hands "It… I-It was in th-that very room… right? Wh-Where you s-s-stopped the first e-execution?"

"Yeah…" Naegi said solemnly, looking at the door that would lead to Tsumiki's death

"I… I d-don't know about m-my past," she continued saying, though at this point it was mostly to calm herself more than it was to calm Naegi "I… I was p-probably a ho-horrible person since I k-k-k-killed so many p-people… But you… you b-believed in me… You… forgave me…"

"Of course I would," Naegi chuckled dryly "We're friends,"

"Y-Yeah…"

She never did fully accept that word. Friends. Were they friends? By the way he talked to her, it seemed like they didn't even know that well back in Hope's Peak Academy. But right now, he and his friends were so willing to sacrifice themselves for someone they barely even knew in the past… Tsumiki liked to believe that they were friends.

The door to Tsumiki's execution ground slowly opened, revealing Sakakura glaring at her in a pissed off fury. Naegi got up, but was quickly turned down by Tsumiki who got up without a struggle. She watched as Sakakura shooed Naegi out of the room, where Kirigiri was waiting outside for him. He then grabbed Tsumiki roughly by the wrist and dragged her into the execution room.

Tall white walls one again greeted her as she entered the room, though she knew that they would soon be stained red by her blood. She looked up to the screening glass, wondering if all her new friends were there, watching.

Togami probably wasn't. Though, Naegi kept telling her that he cared deep down inside. Touko is obviously not going to watch either. Kirigiri had told her about her split personality, and watching something like an execution might trigger a transformation. Asahina and Hagakure were very supportive and cheerful while they were around. They must be devastated right now. And then there's Naegi and Kirigiri. Would they make it in time to see her death?

Does she even want them to see her death?

She honestly doesn't know. In fact, she's not even sure how her death would play out. She hoped it would be quick and painless. She thought back to the books she had written. Kimura had come to visit a few times, and she was indeed impressed by the amount of knowledge the nurse had. She hoped that her work could help people for a long time.

Even though she was dying, Mikan knew that she would die hopeful.

"Thank you… f-for forgiving me…"


End file.
